John Pierre distinguishes philia, brotherly love between friends, from romantic love, and describes his friend George as a steadfast presence through prison, suicidal thoughts, and divorce. True brothers celebrate your wins and show up without judgment, and finding one is rare enough to be a gift.
On friendship to men who want to have more deep and meaningful relationships in their life, and not necessarily with women, but with themselves and with other men, and in a brotherly love way. I think the Greeks have an amazing word for it, which is— and I could be wrong, so I'm open to be corrected— philia, as opposed to agape love, which is the love for a partner. Philia is the love for a brother and a friend. And so One of the best things I've done in my life, out of a lot of the mistakes that I've made, is I've maintained one really good friendship. Um, and I'm not upset that it's only one because it's the best one. And I'm not going to say I don't need others like it, but they're rare to find. And I'm just blessed and grateful that I had one. Uh, George. I'm going to talk about George, a friend who like no other has always been there through it all and has never judged and has never changed who he is towards me based on how I have been in my life. Life will throw us all ups and downs and curveballs. This is normal. My life threw me prison, threw me suicidal thoughts, threw me a marriage that ended in divorce, retired at 28, and a bunch of other things that I'm proud of and some stuff that I'm not so proud of. But it's life, and I'm here to tell the story. But this is the story that I want to share, and if you give me a few minutes, I'd love to share it with you. I think the title should be Everyone Should Have a George in Their Life. Because truly everyone needs someone like my friend George in their life. So find yourself a George. Here we go. George is the kind of character who loves you for you, provided all you are to him is respectful. And that's not to be taken lightly or rudely, but if you treat him with love, care, and respect, which is how you should treat any human, he'll give you the same back 10 times over. He's the kind of man that's stoic, that that you can count on, that's reliable, that if something were wrong or something were right— and I'm going to talk to this— if something were wrong in the past, I'd call, he'd answer. But he's also the only person in the past that I felt like I could call and share good news with who would truly be happy for me in my success. And then if you're watching this and you know what I mean, it's like most people say they want what's best for you, but when you kind of are beating them— because it's not about them, right? It's not even— it's never a comparison, but when your life is different to theirs, they feel a sense of jealousy or envy. Not that they should, but that's humans for you. Most friends will try and like bring you down or say something hurtful, but not the Georges of the world. The Georges of the world, at least for me, my George has been the type of guy, and I really think you should find this, so please listen, who wants for me what's best for me more than I want it. He truly believes that it's possible. And so when I had bought and sold my first house when I was 18, and I said, hey, like, I was excited, like, he was excited. And then as I got older in life and I got married, he came to my wedding. And then when I had another win at work, he's like, let's go out and celebrate. And truly, his happiness— my happiness, sorry— became his happiness. It was very, very sincere, very, very real. There was no part of it that felt like fake or Or for show. And I think in life we go looking for people who we can count on in times of need, but we never actually look for people who we can count on all the time and in the better time. We always want someone to be there when things fall apart, but what about when you get a win in life? And like, God is good, life is amazing, you will get wins. Who are you going to share that with? It's not enough to just have friends for rainy days or people who will answer the call, um, when like shit's hit the fan. It's actually way, way harder, I'd argue, because it's true for me in my life, to find someone that wants what's best for you sincerely and is actually wholeheartedly happy with your happiness and doesn't get envious or jealous or upset. And that is a much, much rarer type of friend to find and a much better one to have for life. And then you get to go and do amazing things. Like for us, it's the middle of a work week. And we promised ourselves when we were younger, 3 years ago, that we were going to do it. And I'm like, man, I always work. He's like, bro, you've earned it. We're going on a holiday. And so find a brother like George. Find a friend who loves you dearly, who wants what's best for you. Work together, live together, talk together. Whatever you do, do it together. The good, the bad, the ugly. This is rare, and this is God's gift to men, is other men who they could call brothers. This is very dear to my heart. I hope it's resonated with some of you. And as always, until next time, think, work, and pray, knowing that God has and always will take care of the rest. Thanks, Georgie.
Unlock Your Potential: 3 Life-Changing Principles for Business and Mindset Success
